1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a spackling tool which has tool holders on its underside for retaining tools such as spackling and putty knives.
2. Background of the Related Art
The basic spackling tool, called a Plasterer's Hawk, has remained relatively unchanged since the turn of the century. One of the earlier improvements is described in U.S. Pat. No. 832,036 to Bunker which issued in 1906. Bunker describes a board forming the top surface of the Plasterer's Hawk and a handle. The back of board is cut with a tapered dovetailed groove to receive a similar shaped slide to prevent the warping of the top. A felt pad is attached to the underside of the board to form a comfortable hand rest. The hand rest and the flat upper board surface are rotatable relative to each other without rubbing the plasterer's hand.
Another improvement to the basic plasterer's hawk is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 963,143 to Hansen et al. It describes a plasterer's hawk with a removable handle. An indentation in the upper side of a flat table that supports the plaster protrudes through the table to receive an insert which is threaded to receive a bolt. A long threaded bolt which protrudes through the length of the handle attaches the handle to the insert in the table. A pad is positioned on the top of the handle between the handle and the bottom of the table in order to protect the hand of the user. The handle can be removed for shipping by unscrewing the long bolt.
An improvement to Hanson et al's embodiment is a hawk that includes a resilient support on the top of the handle formed from an inflatable annular ring. This hawk with a pneumatic hand cushion is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,348,516 to Peck which issued on Aug. 3, 1920. The pneumatic hand cushion is preferably formed of rubber fabric and can be inflated through a valve.
A recent improvement to the basic plasterer's hawk is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,471 to Gringer which issued on Jun. 28, 1988. The hawk has a flat work surface and a handle which can be removably mounted to the underside of the blade in a plurality of different positions for use, storage, packing or display. The handle includes a pair of holes on its side which snap-fit together with mushroom pins on the bottom of the work surface to facilitate mounting of the handle in a storage and/or hanging position. The handle can also be threadably mounted to the blade in a working position.
Each of the plasterer's hawks described above are useful for plastering and spackling walls and/or ceilings under ordinary circumstances. During plastering, however, various sizes blades are required depending on the size or angle of the holes or cracks being filled. Accordingly, when large ceiling areas are plastered over prolonged periods of time, and when the plasterer is working on higher portions of walls, it is inconvenient for the worker to reach down to a utility belt or tool box to obtain various size plastering and putty knives for spreading and smoothing the plaster or spackling material. This is especially difficult when a plasterer is on top of step-ladder or scaffolding and there is a considerable mass of wet plaster or spackling compound on the upper surface of the hawk.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a plasterer's hawk which can hold various size putty and spackling knives in close proximity to the plasterer's hand.
It also would be desirable to maintain the putty and spackling knives attached to the plasterer's hawk during storage and transportation between work sites so that they are easy to locate for cleaning and/or use.